Icebreaker
by RAMSPEL
Summary: Immediately following the thaw, Anna and Elsa deal with the aftermath of the eternal winter and try to find a way to convince the people of Arendelle that they have nothing to fear from their Snow Queen. The story takes place between the last two scenes of the movie, right after Anna punches Hans.


Icebreaker

 _Author's Note: Hello, fellow Frozen fans (wow, that's a bit of a tongue twister). I apologize for the extremely long delay in getting this story published. I actually began Icebreaker way back in late 2013 and I have been putting it aside and coming back to it ever since. I hope the many months of preparation has resulted in a story that is both entertaining and compelling, but I'll let you readers be the judge of that. So without any further delay, here is Icebreaker._

Anna did not want to let go of her sister. It had been thirteen years since they had embraced; now they were making up for lost time. For the first time in forever, it felt like everything would turn out alright. Hans had failed, an act of true love had thawed her frozen heart, and Elsa had managed to get control of her powers and end the eternal winter. Whatever future problems ahead of them would seem like nothing after everything they had already been through.

As if on cue, a drenched Hans climbed onto the docks. Anna thought for half a second about punching him again. She had waited thirteen years to reconnect with her sister and he was ruining the moment. But that would only solve the problem temporarily. Plus, her hand was still really sore from hitting him earlier.

She was tempted to let Kristoff handle him. The young ice harvester had seemed eager to deal with the prince a moment ago and she was sure a few minutes with him would surely make Hans regret trying to kill Elsa and leaving her to die. But that could make Hans look like a victim. The man was a criminal and people needed to know the truth about him.

Deciding she needed a more official solution she turned to the nearest guards. "Guards arrest this man; he is guilty of treason." She said in the most authoritative voice she could muster.

The guards all exchanged nervous glances, but none of them moved to follow her order. Anna's face sank when she saw this. _I know I don't have any real authority now that Elsa is back, but they could at least humor me._

Finally, one of the guards stepped forward and said, "Our orders were to report directly to Prince Hans."

"Prince Hans just tried to assassinate your queen!" Anna exclaimed. _Why is he talking to me about orders? I'm the one that stupidly put Hans in charge in the first place. I know I'm just a princess, but surely my orders should supersede his._

"We were told that the queen had been sentenced to death for…" the guard paused, trying to find a way to finish his sentence, "…for killing you."

Next to her, Elsa stiffened when the guard said that last bit. A flash of rage went through Anna when she saw her sister's distress. She despised Hans for convincing the people of Arendelle that her sister was a monster. Even more so, she despised him for making Elsa herself believe that. She grabbed Elsa's hand, trying to reassure her. To her surprise, Elsa did not pull away from her touch and actually squeezed back.

"Well, you...we were deceived by this traitor. I am obviously not dead, which means my sister has committed no crime." Anna really hoped no one would try to argue with her whether or not casting a kingdom into an eternal winter was a crime. "And Hans has been plotting to kill my sister since before her coronation. When my heart was frozen, he confessed to me his plan has always been to marry royalty, and then to eliminate the true heir so he could ascend the throne."

"What?" Elsa gasped. Her grip on Anna's hand tightened and she pulled her sister closer towards her.

"Hans lied about me being dead, so he would have an excuse to kill you. He was trying to make himself look like a hero trying to save Arendelle and avenge me, when really he was thrilled that you froze my heart. Instead of trying to save me, he locked me in a room and left me to die."

"He what?!" Kristoff growled.

Anna turned and found him staring at her. His eyes were a mixture of concern and rage. Then he turned and strode toward the prince. "I'll handle him."

Even though she had been tempted to let Kristoff deal with Hans just a few minutes earlier, all her royal training (or at least the part that she had actually managed to retain) told her that they needed a more official solution.

"Kristoff." She said as she stepped in front of him. "The guards will handle Hans."

"He nearly killed you!" He spat. Convincing the ice harvester to back off was not going to be easy. He was out for blood. "The guards can arrest him after I deal with him."

Kristoff started to go around Anna, then he stopped abruptly.

"You're shivering!" He observed, his voice tense.

She had been so focused on calming Kristoff down, that she had not realized she was freezing again. The air around them had become frigid in an instant. In the next instant, the chill dissipated and the warm summer air returned. They both turned to look at Elsa, who was glaring at the prince.

"Guards," Her voice was regal and firm as a queen's should be, but there was also an underlying rage that made everyone shiver more than the cold did. "arrest the prince and get him out of my presence. Now!"

The guards immediately ran over to Hans and carried out the queen's orders.

 **...**

An hour later the queen, the council of Arendelle, and a small group of foreign dignitaries who had been in the city for the coronation, all listened as Anna recounted—for what felt like the twentieth time—everything Hans had confessed to her.

The prince had denied her allegations. He claimed that Anna had been so weak after Elsa froze her heart that she had been spouting all sorts of nonsense when he'd been with her and that her memory of what went on in that room could not be trusted.

Fortunately, his claim was refuted by his lies that the princess was already dead and his claim that they had said their wedding vows, whilst Anna was supposedly spouting nonsense. But they still had to get to the bottom of what all had happened over the past few days, not only so they could punish the traitorous prince, but to determine if anyone else-besides the Duke and his men (who'd already been taken into custody), had used this crisis to fulfill their own agenda.

"There is something I am still confused about, Your Highness. After the Prince locked you in the library how were you able to escape?" The French ambassador asked.

"Olaf found me and picked the lock with his nose."

A statement about being rescued by a talking snowman would ordinarily have helped the Prince's claim that Anna has been out of her mind at the time, but everyone present had already seen the little snowman frolicking around.

"And once you were free, why didn't you find the guards and explain what Prince Hans was up to then?" Soren the treasurer asked. His tone had more than a hint of accusation in it that irritated the queen. _Anna is not on trial here._

"I was still about to d..." Anna glanced at her sister. "My heart was still frozen. I've been told by some...uh...love experts that 'an act of true love could thaw a frozen heart' and after Hans...after he revealed his true nature, I went looking for another solution."

"That still doesn't explain why you didn't seek 'an act of true love,' as you call it, in the castle instead of running out to the fjord in the middle of a blizzard."

 _Hold your tongue._ Elsa reminded herself. She did not want the council to think Anna was conspiring with her to hide anything. Even though most were being too polite to interrogate Anna the way Soren was, she could tell that they agreed with his sentiments. He was not the only one who was bitter that Elsa had hid her powers. At some point she was going to have to pay the political repercussions of that decision, and when that time came, she didn't want Anna being drug into it. Still, she was having trouble resisting the urge to jump into the conversation and defend her little sister.

"I saw Kristoff coming across the fjord and I thought that he might could help me." Anna explained.

"How did you think he could help you?"

"I...well…I hoped that—"

"That is quite enough Anna." Elsa injected.

"I think we have heard quite enough to establish Hans' guilt. After all, he is the one whose character is under question." She continued with a glare at Soren. "Meanwhile, we have much more pressing issues to discuss. Arendelle has been through a crisis, one that I know I am responsible for," Anna gave Elsa's hand a soft squeeze to reassure her. "And I would like to focus on helping our people recover."

"Your Majesty, if I may be frank," Soren began.

Next to her Elsa heard Anna mutter: "Do you have any other way of talking?"

"I'm afraid, there might be some who will be resistant toward receiving help from you." Soren said.

If her magic had not already caused Elsa's face to naturally look pale, it would have drained of color.

"What are you talking about?" Anna exclaimed

"After seeing what happened at the coronation and with the terrible winter that followed, the people are afraid. They worry about what kind of threat the queen may pose."

When she heard this Elsa winced like she had been slapped. In her urgency to defend her sister Anna blurted out. "That is ridiculous! Elsa's not a threat to anyone!"

"Forgive me, Your Highness, but did she not freeze your heart?" Soren reminded her.

"She…I…" Anna sputtered.

"And that was after you had assured the prince that your sister would never hurt you."

Elsa felt her pulse quicken and her hands start to tingle. Knowing this usually preceded her magic seeping out, she quickly let go of her sister and shoved her hands in her lap.

Anna seemed too outraged by Soren's remark to notice. "It was an accident! And she did try to warn me to get away…that I wasn't safe…at that time I mean. It wasn't her fault!" She looked at Elsa as she said this and seemed to have forgotten about the council and was speaking only to her sister. "You were scared and I only made things worse. I should have listened instead of trying to push you when you weren't ready. What happen was my fault."

"No! Anna, don't try to take the blame for me." Elsa insisted. "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be here and the entire kingdom would still be a frozen wasteland."

Turning back to the dignitaries Anna added. "None of what happened matters anymore. I'm healed and as you all saw she has control over her powers now."

"It may not be that simple, Your Highness." Henrik, a longtime friend and ally of both her father's and Elsa's, said. " _We_ can put this behind us, but convincing the kingdom to do so is another matter. The people are grateful that Queen Elsa has ended the terrible winter, but it doesn't change the fact that they all know how dangerous her powers can be."

Elsa's mind flashed to the night of her coronation, the collective gasp that had emerged from the crowd when she froze the fountain, the looks of terror mirrored on all the faces, parents holding their children close to shield them from the Snow Queen.

 _I'm such a fool._ How had she ever let herself believe that people were just going to forget that night and move on like nothing had happened? Why, because she had thawed everything, because she had been gracious enough to put an end of the crisis that _she_ had started.

"Elsa." Anna said softly. She looked up to meet her sister's eyes, which were focused on Elsa's hands. She followed her sister's gaze to her hands, which were clutching the arms of the chair a layer of frost was spreading across the wood.

She let go of the chair and waved her hands, but the frost did not recede. She tried again, this time, forcing herself to think about that morning when she thawed the fjord, Anna's proud smile as she declared 'I knew you could do it.' This time the frost collected into a small snowflake that dissipated when Elsa willed the frozen fractals away.

"I'm fine." The queen lied automatically, but everyone continued to give her worried looks.

Anna took Elsa's hands in hers. The physical contact was nice, yet the elder woman had to fight the old response to pull away.

"The kingdom loves you. You've led us wonderfully for three years. All those people were gathered outside at your coronation to show you how grateful they are. We just need to show them you're still the same person you always been and that they have nothing to fear."

"Anna after everything that happened, I don't think people are ever going to get past what they saw. I don't blame them. They're right my powers are dangerous."

"Yeah, but your powers are also beautiful. They made Olaf, and that ice palace on the North Mountain. People are scared because they have only seen the scary, eternal winter, giant snow-monster, side of your powers. If they saw what I see and the beautiful things your powers can do they'd know there's nothing to fear."

"That is sweet Anna, but I don't think people will ever see my powers as anything but a threat."

Anna tried to offer her sister a smile, but in her eyes Elsa could see the tears beginning to form from pity for her sister. Then her eyes suddenly lit up.

"Then we'll show them what I see. I mean you…not we…because I'll be there to support you, but you're the only one with ice powers…which probably isn't a bad thing because if I had your powers I'd use them all the time…seriously all the time… and I know I would probably abuse them. I certainly wouldn't start out that way, but over time I'd—"

"Anna." Elsa interrupted. If she let Anna continue on every tangent she went on they'd be there all night.

"Sorry. What I meant was that you can show people how amazing and beautiful your power can be. You can give them a demonstration of the magical things you can do, and show them there is nothing to fear."

"After what the people saw you're suggesting that if the queen flaunts her powers even more that people will suddenly just accept her power like they're perfectly natural?!" One of the dignitaries exclaimed.

"How do you expect people to move on if she reminds them of exactly what she can do?" Another argued.

"Well, it's not like people are going to forget. Everyone already knows she has these powers, and if we act like they are something that need to be hidden and never talked about, then people are never going to accept them. But if we show them her powers are good and give people a chance, then I think they'll embrace them."

"I wish I shared your opportunism, but I think you are putting too much faith in people." Elsa said

"Or maybe you're not putting enough faith in them. Elsa I know you're scared, but you don't have to go through this alone, not anymore. I'm right here for you. I believe in our people and I _know_ you can do it."

Anna's words reminded Elsa of their conversation the day before, when Anna had tried to convince her to come back to Arendelle so she could end the winter. Elsa had once again shut her sister down, thinking she was being her naive, unrealistic self, but she had been right.

She thought of all those times Anna had begged Elsa to come out her room. Now that she understood that love was the key to her powers, she wondered what would have happened if she had had the courage to open the door. Would she have hurt Anna like she always feared or would their lives have turned out differently if she hadn't run from her powers?

All those years Anna never gave up on her, even after everything Elsa had put her through. She still doubted Anna's plan would work, but she owed it to her sister to give it a try. After all, it's not like anything she had ever done had worked.

"Okay." She said slowly. "I'll do it."

"You will!" Anna's eyes lit up like she'd just been given a barrel full of chocolate.

"Your Majesty…" One of the councilors began.

"I know you have objections to this and any argument you will make against this, I've already considered. I can't predict what the outcome of this plan will be. But Anna's right, we can't just ignore my powers, not anymore, and hope that people will forget about them. We have to face this situation head-on."

Turning to the princess she asked, "So what kind of demonstration do you propose we have?"

"Oh, this will be so much fun—trust me! We can make a whole family of Olafs…wait…they'd all melt afterward, unless you gave them their own person flurries, which may cause too many problems, a whole bunch of Olafs walking around, I mean it sounds fun, for a while, but then it might complicate things too much. Forget that idea.

You could make another ice palace, the last one was so beautiful. I know people will love that. We'll just have to make sure they are careful because that staircase made of ice is a real safety hazard. We don't want people slipping…Oh wait, I have the perfect idea. You can make an ice rink. The courtyard could be converted into one; it's the perfect setup. That is, if you'd be willing to open the gates back up?"

"I think they've been closed for far too long. I like the idea of an ice rink"

Anna flashed Elsa another huge smile. "This will be so much fun. We'll have to make sure people bring ice skates."

As her sister prattled on, the queen looked at the faces of her shocked council and hoped that the crowd that came to her demonstration was friendlier than these men. She wondered if she was making a mistake. She already had her sister back, maybe she was asking for too much hoping that people could actually accept her powers.

But then again a few days ago Elsa never would have thought she'd be able to control her powers. She never imagined what she was doing right then, sitting next to Anna, holding her hand without her gloves, was possible. "Fear will be your enemy," the old troll had told her years ago. Perhaps it was finally time for her to face that enemy.

…

Later that night, Anna stared at the faint trace of moonlight, trying to fall asleep, but it was no use. She kept worrying about tomorrow. Despite the fearless front she had shown her sister and the council, she still had some doubts that her idea might fail and make the situation worse.

Perhaps she was being too naive, and when Elsa demonstrated all she could do with her powers, people only feared her more? Maybe they would always be too fearful of the unknown to see Elsa's powers as anything but dangerous. Elsa had shut herself off from the world because she _thought_ people would fear and despise her because of her powers. If Anna's idea went horribly awry and they _confirmed_ Elsa's fears, then what would she do?

 _She won't leave me, not again, not after everything we've been through._ Anna tried to reassure herself. But even as she tried to believe this, she still had doubts. Kristoff's words, about how most people that disappear into the mountains want to be alone, kept running through her mind. And she couldn't deny how confident and unburdened Elsa had looked when Anna had first seen her at the ice palace. If people did not respond the way they wanted them to tomorrow, would Elsa decide to go back to where she where she was truly happy. And could Anna really stand in the way of her sister's happiness?

 _No, this will work…it has to._ Anna laid her head back down, but she knew she'd never get to sleep. If _she_ was this worried about tomorrow, she wondered how Elsa must feel. Now that the truth was out and Elsa had control of her powers, she had promised Anna that she would never shut her out again. Did that mean she could go to her sister whenever she was anxious, even in the middle of the night?

 _No,_ Anna decided Elsa had had a long few days already, and tomorrow would likely be tiring as well. It would be selfish to disturb her sister's sleep just because she wanted to talk. But, maybe Elsa was having trouble sleeping as well.

Anna spent another ten minutes lying there debating whether or not to go see Elsa until she finally talked herself into it. After all, things were never going to change if she still carried on her old habits.

Once she reached Elsa's door, she hesitated. After years of being told to go away, just standing there brought up all of those feelings of rejection. Taking a deep breath, she knocked gently on the door. No answer came. Hoping Elsa might be sleeping, she knocked again, this time a little louder.

"Elsa." she called nervously. "Are you up?"

Anna waited, feeling just as awkward and tense as she did so many times for all of those years. After a couple of minutes she knew Elsa was not going to answer.

 _Maybe she's just sleeping._ Anna reasoned. After all, it was the middle of the night. And Elsa was probably exhausted after everything that happened. But although there were many logical reasons why Elsa had not answered she could shake the worry that nothing had really changed between them—and maybe never would.

Anna did not feel like going back to her room and fighting the same losing battle with sleep, so she decided to go to the kitchen and make herself some hot chocolate. She hoped the warm liquid would help her mood.

On her way to the kitchen, she saw shadows coming from the ballroom. When she peered through the doorway to investigate, she found her sister in the middle of the room. The floor was covered with a thin layer of ice.

Relief washed over her when she realized Elsa hadn't ignored her knocking; she hadn't even been in the room at the time.

"Elsa." The queen had her back to Anna and was focused on the floor. She turned when she heard her name.

"Anna, what are you doing up so late?"

"I couldn't sleep. What are you doing?"

Elsa looked sheepishly at the icy ground. "I was just practicing for tomorrow." She held up her hands like she did on the fjord and made the ice recede, then she stomped her foot and make it reappear.

"Whoa. Elsa this looks amazing." Anna marveled at her sister's gift.

Elsa nodded, but her frown and pressed lips betrayed her doubts.

"People are going to love this." Anna said confidently. Her need to reassure her sister chased her own doubts from her mind.

"You are assuming people are going to even show up tomorrow. I don't expect many people to come after the last display of my powers." Elsa's face sunk remembering the night of her coronation.

"Yeah, but…" Anna hated seeing her sister like this; she tried to think of something meaningful to say to comfort her, but articulation had never been her strength. "People love you, Elsa. I mean, you're their queen and they know that you have done everything in your power to take care of them. They are not going to turn their backs on you just because on one night you were scared and lost control. Besides, they also saw how you saved everyone."

Elsa didn't love convinced. Anna started walking over to her to put her hand on her shoulder.

"Listen Elsa, if you make the ice rink just like this tomorrow, no one is going fear your powers they are going to—"

Halfway through her trek Anna's feet lost their traction and flew out from under her. Having much experience falling, Anna knew this would hurt and braced herself for the impact, but instead of hitting the hard ground like she expected, she landed on something cold, yet soft. She sat up and discovered Elsa had created a snow pile to break her fall.

"Anna!" Elsa rushed to her side.

"Are you okay?" Elsa took Anna face in her hands and gingerly moved her to where they were facing each other. "Are you hurt anywhere?" She ran her fingers through her sister's strawberry blond locks brushing away the frozen powder that had broken her fall.

Anna didn't answer. She was too busy relishing Elsa's attention. Until today she had been so starved for any affection and physical contact with her sister that she still worried deep down that Elsa was going to come to her senses and realize she wasn't worth her efforts.

"Anna!" Elsa's shriek brought her back to her senses.

"Oh yeah, sorry. I'm fine."

Elsa did not seem convinced. "Are you sure? You're not hurt?"

"Just my pride…I mean not really…if pride could get hurt I'm pretty sure mine would be dead a long time ago because I fall a lot. Seriously, I am going to need a lot more snow piles tomorrow to survive ice skating."

Elsa looked at the snow pile Anna had landed in, and then she waved her hands and caused it to dissipate along with the ice covering the floor. "I should have been more careful." She muttered.

Anna put a hand on Elsa's arm. "Hey, this isn't your fault. Knowing me, I probably would have slipped even without the ice." Thinking back she added. "Actually, I did slip here a few days ago, but I was wearing a really long dress and heels and I stepped on the hem and that caused me to fall flat on my...anyway you get the point. I'm going to fall no matter what."

This seemed to lift Elsa's mood a bit, but Anna could see she was more upset than she wanted to let on. Trying to cheer Elsa up more, she added with a smile: "Besides, I don't really mind falling as long as I have my big sister around to catch me."

Elsa's body went rigid and she pulled her arm out of Anna's grip. She backed away from her younger sister. Anna knew immediately she had said something wrong.

The princess mentally kicked herself for whatever it was. She played back her words in her mind and tried to figure what had upset Elsa, but she could not figure out what had done it. Usually, when her rather inadequate mental filter got her into trouble she realized what she had said the moment she heard the words out loud, but this time she was at a loss.

Anna had been shut out enough times to know the signs. If she didn't tread carefully, she might destroy her promising new relationship with Elsa before it really began. She eased over to her sister. The queen's eyes glanced slightly in her direction, but besides that she didn't really acknowledge Anna. Her thoughts seemed to be far off. Anna reached out to touch her Elsa's shoulder, but then decided against it thinking this might overwhelm her. She instead ran her fingers through her own hair trying to cover up her attempt at physical contact.

"Elsa, what's…whatever is wrong, I'm right here for you. Whatever it is you don't have to face it alone, not anymore."

"Anna," the queen half whisper. "You don't understand."

A light flurry of snowflakes began to fall.

"No, I can't imagine what you are going through, but if you'll talk to me about it, I'll try."

"I don't always catch you." Elsa muttered. She closed her eyes, wincing as she said the words. When she opened them again a few tears fell down her cheeks.

"Wait, what?" Anna asked softly.

"I don't always catch you." Elsa repeated, this time more clearly.

"What do you mean?"

Elsa finally looked her sister in the eye. The tears were pouring down her face now. Anna could not remember the last time Elsa had looked so devastated, not even when her secret was revealed or when she kicked Anna out of the ice palace.

"Anna when I froze your heart, that was not the first time I nearly killed you."

"What?" Anna gasped.

Elsa could no longer hold her sister's gaze and diverted her eyes. She stared off remembering the accident. "It happened in this very room. I was eight and you were only five. You couldn't sleep one night so we came down here to play. We were having so much fun. I was making piles of snow for you to jump into, but then I slipped and fell on the ice. And you had already jumped into the air and were about to fall. I didn't want you to hurt yourself, so I shot an icy blast without really aiming. I was just trying to make a pile of snow for you to land in.

I'm sorry Anna; I never meant to hurt you. It was an accident. But when I tried to catch you I missed and struck you in the head.

I went to you and tried to help you, but you were ice cold. Your hair started to turn white. Mama and Papa took you to the trolls. They were able to undo what my magic had done, but they had to remove your memories of my magic in order to save you.

After that I had to stay away from you. I couldn't risk hurting you again."

For once Anna was rendered speechless. There were too many thoughts and memories racing through her mind that she could not process any of them. She thought of how she'd asked Elsa so many times "Do you want to build a snowman."

"I used to know you had powers?" She finally managed to ask.

Elsa nodded. "After the trolls removed your memories, Mama and Papa…and I thought that the best way to protect you was to hide my powers and limit my contact with you.

Anna thought about all the times she had walked away heartbroken when Elsa rejected her attempts to spend time together and she had sought comfort from her parents. They'd always tried to make excuses saying Elsa was too busy or her sister wasn't feeling well. Even back then she knew they weren't being honest with her, but at the time she'd thought they were just trying to spare her feelings by hiding the fact that Elsa did want anything to do with her. All those years, she certainly had not _felt_ protected.

"I remember we were so close. I always wondered what caused you to shut me out." _What I did to make you hate me,_ she could not bring herself to verbalize to the last part of her thought.

Elsa hesitantly took her sister's hand in hers, looking like she was fighting the urge to recoil from the contact. "Anna you don't know how much it tortured me to turn you away all of those times, but I had to. I promised myself I would do whatever it took to keep you safe."

All those years when she had wondered why Elsa stopped loving her, never once had it occurred to her that maybe Elsa was staying away to protect her, and that turning her away all those times just had hurt the girl on the inside of the door just as much as the one on the outside.

"So all that time you shut me and the rest of the world out, it was to protect me, even though it was making you miserable?"

Elsa looked into her sister's eyes and said. "I love you."

 _Olaf was right, I really don't know anything about love._ Anna quickly gave her sister a big hug that seemed to surprise Elsa, but after a second she melted into it. "Thank you."

"For what?" Elsa exclaimed.

"For putting my needs first even when I didn't know it. You are the world's best big sister."

Elsa pulled back from the hug and looked at her incredulously. "I nearly killed you, _twice._ No, actually I did kill you."

Anna rolled her eyes. "On accident and I'm fine now. Stop punishing yourself for something you couldn't control. Besides, I think the accident hurt you a lot more than it did me."

"You wouldn't say that if you could remember that night." Elsa grimaced just from thinking about the experience.

"I might not be able to remember that night, but I remember you before then. I remember you were happy and we were so close. We always were playing in the snow—looking back, I really should have questioned why we were in the snow so much. And then one day you withdrew from everyone and everything and never seemed happy anymore. And if I would have had my memories of your ice magic, back then, I would have told you how wonderful they were and that you should not have to hide them from anyone.

I'm sorry what happened to me caused you to run from your powers and fear them, but now that I know the truth, I'm going to remind you all the time that your powers are a gift not a curse, until you believe it too. And I have an idea how I can start. Do you want to build a snowman?"

Elsa didn't answer; she seemed too choked up to talk.

 _Maybe it's too soon to ask that_. Anna thought.

Then Elsa formed a snowball in her hands threw it up in the air. It burst into millions of snowflakes that fell down around the sisters, within a few seconds there was a light layer of powder covering the ground.

"I'll take that as a yes." Anna grabbed a handful of snow and started forming a tiny head. Soon both the young royals were giggling and playing in a way that they haven't done since they were children.

…

The next morning, as she looked down from her balcony and gazed at the crowd that had gathered waiting for the gates to be opened, Queen Elsa was struck with a sense of déjà vu. Had it really only been four days since her coronation? It seemed like a lifetime ago what with everything that had changed since then. Of course, one thing was still the same. She felt exactly the same way now as she did four days ago: terrified.

In a few minutes the gates would be open and she be facing all of those people whose lives had been turned upside down since she'd frozen the whole kingdom. She wondered why (for probably the hundredth time) she'd let Anna convince her that this was a good idea. No, actually, she knew why she'd agreed to this.

At the time she'd been so elated from Anna surviving a frozen heart, not to mention actually having control of her powers, that she had managed to hope everything else would work out and people would somehow be okay with her ice magic.

But now staring down at the crowd that she'd soon be showing off for, she was reminded of the stark reality that people tended not to be okay with someone who could turn them to solid ice just by willing it to happen. If she got lucky, maybe they wouldn't form a great mob and chase her out of Arendelle.

"See, I told you people would come."

The queen jerked around, she had been so engrossed in watching the crowd, she had not heard her sister approach.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. I guess, I should have knocked, but the door was open."

"No, you're fine. I just wasn't expecting you. I figured you would be waiting at the gates. I thought you wanted to give your mountain guide his new sled."

"I do, but it can wait."

Elsa raised her eyebrows. Over dinner last night, Anna had excitedly talked about the new sled she had purchased to replace the one that had been destroyed. She had even insisted that the queen make up a new title just so her friend could be given the recognition he deserved. Elsa assumed that Anna would want to present the sled the second the gates were open.

"I wanted to check on you first and see how you were doing." Her sister continued.

"I'm fine." Elsa lied. There was no sense having Anna worried about her, when she knew how much the younger woman had been looking forward to having the gate opened again.

Anna gave her a skeptical look and then a hug. "Well just in case you don't feel fine, I want you to remember that I will be right with you for all of this."

"Thank you." Elsa said choked up. No matter how many times she had told Anna to go away and even after everything Elsa had put her through, she would always love her unconditionally. The thought eased her nerves and allowed her to focus her powers.

"Tell the guards to open the gates." She ordered the servants below.

The sisters made their way down to the courtyard where people were beginning to file in. Many of them had brought ice skates, which Anna excitedly pointed out to her sister. But there was still an undeniable layer of tension just beneath the surface.

The crowd was cordial, but they kept their distance. No one dared to come close to Queen Elsa. Then a little girl, of about five or six, broke away from a small group and approached the queen.

Elsa was so caught off guard, she could not say anything. Surely, this girls parents must be somewhere nearby panicking that their daughter is in such proximity to someone who could freeze her. Out of old habit, she backed away from the child.

When Anna saw this she knelt down next to the girl so she would be at her eye level.

"Hi, what is your name?" Anna asked the child.

The girl looked nervously at the princess and answered. "Freya."

"Freya, that's a pretty name. I'm Princess Anna and this is my sister Queen Elsa."

"Hi." Elsa muttered. She held her hands close to her chest. She could handle herself in a meeting or exchanging pleasantries with some political dignitary or foreign royal, but she had no idea how to conduct herself around kids. Anna was the one with the friendly, accessible demeanor that put children at ease.

"Freya, did you want to say something to the queen?" Anna asked.

Freya looked sheepishly at the queen and asked "Are you really going to make an ice rink with your magic?"

When Elsa hesitated, Anna answered for her. "Yes she is, but not for a little bit." The little girl seemed disappointed. "But maybe Queen Elsa can show you something magical right now."

The girl looked eagerly at the queen who was flashing her sister a look of shock.

"Well go on, Your Majesty, Freya would like to see something amazing. I know you are not going to disappoint her."

Elsa took a deep breath and tried to focus. _Love_ , she thought. Well she loved her sister, although right now part of her was tempted to throttle her for putting her on the spot like this. She also loved her people and she wanted them to feel safe around her.

She thought back to when she was a child and found so much joy in using her power. Then she knew exactly what she was going to do for Freya.

Elsa held her hands a few inches apart and formed a small chunk of ice. She then held the ice in one hand and with the other she waved her fingers around, shaping and molding the ice until it formed the shape of a crocus, the official flower of Arendelle. The queen handed the flower to Freya, who seemed awestruck by the process.

The child stared at the flower with delight, and then she ran to the queen and hugged her.

"Thank you, Queen Elsa! It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen!"

Elsa felt her eyes well up and fought to keep her composure. "I'm glad you like it."

"Can I have one?" Another child called out.

"Me too?"

"Could you make me a ball?" A boy asked.

Before the queen realized it, she was surrounded by children making requests. She could see if she obliged one child she would never be able to draw the line. "I am afraid I can't right now."

A collective "aww" went out from the children, even some of the adult seemed disappointed they would not get to see anymore. "But I will be making an ice rink soon so I hope you have your skates."

Those without skates quickly ran home to retrieve them.

"That was beautiful and patriotic." Anna said. "I can see why they want more."

Through a smile that she kept plastered on for the crowd, Elsa warned, "Just ask before you volunteer me to do a demonstration like that again."

Anna returned her warning with an innocent look. "I knew you'd be fine." Then she spotted someone over her sister's shoulder.

"Kristoff!" She waved to a young man that Elsa recognized as the man who had accompanied Anna to the ice palace.

Anna ran to her friend and brought him over to Elsa.

"I would like you to meet…or meet again since really you met once before, Kristoff...What did you say your last name was?"

"Bjorgman" The man replied with an affectionate smile at the princess that made her blush and made the queen a bit nervous. Exactly how close had those two became during that short trip?

"Thanks, I remember now. I would like you to meet Kristoff Bjorgman, whose heroism is the reason I'm alive. Kristoff, I would like you to meet my sister, Queen Elsa of Arendelle."

"Your Majesty." The young man bowed, although he was clearly uncomfortable with all this formality.

"Anna is right. If it wasn't for you she would not be here and therefore neither would I."

"I really didn't do much, besides bringing her back. Anna…I mean Her Highness is the one who saved herself and you."

"Even so, I still cannot express my gratitude enough for looking out for her through all of those dangers. But I believe Anna had something she wanted to show you that will help express how grateful we are."

"Now! Really? Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"I've never been better. Now go, I know how much you've been looking forward to this."

"Okay! But we'll be back in time for the ice rink." Turning to Kristoff she asked. "Do you have a handkerchief or something that we can use for a blindfold?"

He handed her a long piece of cloth. "Yeah. Why?"

"Because this is supposed to be a surprise." She said, tying the cloth around his eyes. "Now come on!"

Elsa watched as Anna led her friend towards his new sled. Something told her she was going to have to keep an eye on those two. When Anna accidentally ran Kristoff right into a pole she couldn't help but laugh. Perhaps, she should have spoken up when Anna suggested the blindfold. The princess had a hard enough time walking by herself without running into things. She continued to watch them until they disappeared into the crowd.

Back on the North Mountain Elsa had thought she was finally free, but now she realized how wrong she'd been. Running away from the rest of the world had not made her any more free than hiding from it. Now that she could be who she was and with the people she loved, she finally knew what it was to be free.

 _Author's Note: Just a side note: The line where Anna mentions how a bunch of Olafs walking around could complicate things too much is not actually a nod to Frozen Fever, but a happy coincidence. I actually completed the first draft of the story months before the short film came out (which really speaks volumes about my tendency to procrastinate and be super nitpicky when it comes to editing my own work). Thanks for reading. I hope you liked it._


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